


My Apologies for Losing

by TheAzureFox



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Gen, I also love Rose and Bede too but I think that's p much a given at this pt, Raihan is an actual character in the games apparently, also I have recently discovered I fucking love Leon and I'm living for it, but still, granted it's less conspiracy and more food for thought, welcome to: i like writing fanfics off of my conspiracy theories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-10-24 06:21:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20701370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAzureFox/pseuds/TheAzureFox
Summary: Two rivals take the stage.Bede watches, but the outcome sends him reeling.For, he never expected Raihan to have lost.Then again, he never expected Raihan's words of madness, either.





	My Apologies for Losing

**Author's Note:**

> Oof between being sick, preparing for college, and being distracted by my quest to complete the USUM national dex, I haven't been writing as much as I want to for SWSH stuff. That will be changing soon, I hope, but no guarantees bc I just know college life is gonna hate me (especially since i'll be living by myself on campus for the next year which scares me as a shy person :<).
> 
> Also I didn't realize it until now but there are other fanfics in this fandom that aren't smut and/or are completely unrelated to this game and its characters and bless u authors who are already writing for this fandom and giving me food. I need to catch up and comment on everything but gfjhfjg im happy to see others writing for SWSH before it comes out
> 
> Regardless, for this fanfic there’s a larger version of my thoughts in the end notes but here’s the basic summary for this piece: 
> 
> We’ve got a currently unknown dude named Raihan in the SWSH games apparently and so, naturally, I’m going to write about him before he gets revealed because I’m excited to know who the fuck he is.
> 
> This work is unrelated to my major SwSh fanfic and is something I’ve just written on the fly. I don’t consider this interpretation of Bede to be my more “accurate” version so lol sorry if he feels OOC here bc he most certainly will oops.

Somewhere in Galar, at the northernmost point of the Galar region, a stadium roars with excitement.

From the TV located in his room, Bede watches the stadium from afar. He chews on a bowl of popcorn while doing so, watching with sparkling eyes at the way two figures emerge on the screen.

One is a dark-skinned man with navy blue hair. He wears a red cape lined with yellow fur, a black hat, and a sports outfit that makes him easily recognizable to the eyes. Golden eyes set alight with white pupils pop out as the main flexes his arm into a fist, grinning with a challenge ripe in his eyes.

Beside him, a Charizard swoops down, landing beside the man and spitting out a burning flamethrower into the air to denounce its presence. It cuts loose on its show, grinning, and the dragon looks to its partner with a nod of its head.

On the other side of the stadium, striding forward with a care-free grin on his face, is a person Bede knows intimately. A man with blond hair, glistening purple eyes, and a purple trench coat takes the stage, seemingly bursting with excitement as he comes to a halt before the purple-haired man.

Coming from the shadows of the stadium is a blue bird with two crests of feathers on its head. It descends with grace and elegance, power in every stroke of its wings as it careens and lands with a flutter beside the blond-haired man. The Cramorant trills, flaring its wings to unleash a tornado of water, before it ends its display and stray drops of water patter down upon the field.

“It’s good to see you’ve gotten this far!” The blond-haired man states, a hand on his hip and a smile on his lips. “But don’t expect I’ll go easy on you, Leon.”

“You know I don’t lose battles, Raihan!” His opponent says, face shaping into the form of determination. “So don’t expect me to lose!”

“I would never,” Raihan says, grinning as he readies a Pokeball. “Shall we start?”

Leon grabs a Pokeball of his own. “I’m ready when you are.”

They toss their Pokeballs out and the battle begins. Bede watches with fascination as two Sirfetched take the field, brandishing leek swords and leek shields as they size their opponents up. There is familiarity in their movements as they descend upon one another, each parrying and spearing with a rival’s insight. Bede gets the feeling that these two Sirfetched have fought with each other before, watching with a grin on his face as the two converge, fight, and then jump away to recalculate their next move.

Eventually, however, Leon’s Sirfetched falters. It makes a single misstep, its foot slipping on a patch of leftover wetness from Cramorant’s earlier show, and it takes a brutal beating. It cries out, fainting, and Leon recalls it with a smile.

“Good job,” he tells the Pokeball in his hands, exchanging it for another one. “Go! Kommo-o!”

A gray dragon adorned in yellow and orange plates manifests, snarling as it takes sight of the Sirfetched before it. The dragon rears on its hind legs, tail shaking with anticipation, and then it charges forward. Strong hands pummel down upon the Sirfetched, claws raking into its shield. The gallant duck tries fighting back but flusters under the ferocity of such a beast, losing its confidence until, finally, Kommo-o lands a fatal blow.

Raihan recalls his Pokémon, nodding, and then sends out a Meowstic. The white and purple cat takes note of its opponent, seemingly sneering, before it sets to work. Moving with a speed that outpaces Kommo-o, it unleashes a string of psychic attacks. The dragon roars with anger, snapping and biting, but it fails to catch the elusive psychic cat.

Kommo-o fails and a Dusknoir takes its place. The gray ghost makes quick work of Raihan’s Meowstic, forcing the man to reveal his Froslass. The two ghosts work fast, sending balls of darkness at each other, and Bede is nearly jumping in his seat whenever they pop back into view, moving with such speed and unpredictability that even the Rotom camera has a hard time figuring out where they are and when they’ll reappear.

However, it isn’t long before Froslass is taken out, unable to sustain much damage as it flutters to the ground. Raihan recalls his Pokémon, looking visibly frustrated, before he sends out a green and yellow dragon Bede recognizes as Flygon. The creature seems undeterred by the presence of a disappearing ghost, its antennae twitching with concentration before it shoots, with precision, a beam of white light that strikes Dusknoir mercilessly to the ground.

“Return, Dusknoir!” Leon calls. “Go, Tyranitar!”

A green giant takes the field, roaring with a snarl as it manifests. The Pokémon locks eyes with Flygon, almost grinning, before it sets to work.

The two beasts clash, Flygon using its tail to beat down upon Tyranitar while the gargantuan dinosaur uses claws of purple energy to fight its opponent. The two work in tandem, each exchanging blows and biting at thin air, before two simultaneous calls ring in the air:

“Dragon Pulse!”

Both creatures ready balls of purple energy from their mouths, jaws opening to their fullest extent before, suddenly, they blast it outwards and towards their opponent. The two beams collide, sparking with energy, before an explosion rocks the air and sends both draconic Pokémon flying to opposite sides of the arena.

There’s a pause, a lull of uncertainty from the audience, before a voice that can only be the moderator rings in the air.

“Both Pokémon are fainted! Trainers, send out your next Pokémon!”

Raihan and Leon look to each other. The Rotom Camera zooms in on both of their faces, flicking between them with the audience’s interest in mind. Bede notes with some level of unease how, unlike Leon, Raihan is not smiling. Instead, the man looks frustrated, teeth biting down into his lower lip so hard it looks like he might break the skin of it. Bede pops a nervous handful of popcorn in his mouth, uncertainty taking him, before the next two Pokémon are sent out onto the field.

A white bird with triangles of blue and red flecking its belly appears, extending long wings and trilling with a voice of pleasure. It settles upon Leon’s head, running its beak through Leon’s hair, before it looks up to watch its opponent come into view.

From Raihan’s side, a bi-pedal frog-like creature appears with black lines upon its body and red stingers atop its bulbous hands. A crimson sack inflates from beneath its chin, relasing with a _rrrroak_ that is loud enough to send Bede grinning. The Toxicroak readies itself into a fighting position, teeth baring, and eyes its opponent with a wary sense of apprehension.

“Poison Jab!”

“Air Slash!”

The two Pokémon collide, wing meeting fist as they descend and fight. There’s snarls and hisses, shrills and jabbers, before a winner is decided as quickly as the fight’s begun.

Togekiss stands atop Toxicroak’s unconscious body, fluttering its wings with pride as it stands atop its fallen opponent. Leon calls it back and it happily flaps upwards, moving back into position, before it’s unceremoniously slammed into the ground.

Raihan’s Cramorant appears with a flourish of water on its wings. Green eyes alight in an indiscernible emotion stare at the bird trapped beneath its feet. Then, without remorse, the bird rakes its claws down Togekiss’s back and flies off, unleashing a Hydro Pump of wicked magnitude down upon the creature beneath it.

The camera flicks over to Raihan. The man is glaring at Leon, all his earlier sense of joviality lost for something sinister. It makes Bede dig his fingers into the plastic of the bowl in his lap, biting down on his bottom lip as Leon seems to have the same thought he has.

“There’s no need for violence,” Leon says. “This is just like any other battle, isn’t it?”

But the silence that comes from Raihan’s mouth seems to say otherwise. The boy raises a hand, dictating his Pokémon, and Cramorant dives forward.

Togekiss, however, flutters out of the way, regaining itself into a position of flight as it careens away. Cramorant pursues after it, however, spitting out gobs of water that makes the damaged bird cry out with surprise.

“Air Cutter!”

Togekiss flaps its wings, sending a stream of air that cuts off Cramorant’s path. The blue bird hisses, deterred, and then settles for manifesting a giant wave of water that crashes down upon Togekiss. The white bird struggles, trapped in the pull of liquid, before its slammed down into the ground and faints.

Leon recalls his Pokémon, looking at Raihan with apprehension. There’s something flickering on his face, some sense of loss, before he shakes his head and sends out his last Pokémon.

Charizard takes the field, eyes alight with fire as it turns to Leon. The two nod to each other and Leon holds up his left arm, revealing the white band strapped to his skin. From across the field, Raihan does the same, rolling back the sleeves of his trench coat to reveal an identical band. They press their fingers down upon the item, recalling their Pokémon, before the Pokeballs in their hands grow in size, turning white in color. Lines of rainbow flicker across the surface of the gargantuan Pokeballs, sparkling with a dazzle that takes their audience by storm, before they toss their items behind them.

From the giant Pokeballs emerge giant replicas of the Pokémon that had just been recalled only moments earlier. A giant Charizard and a giant Cramorant emerge, red clouds wafting above their heads as the sky turns dark and the air churns with a kind of energy that reaches Bede even thousands of miles away.

“Are you ready for this?” Leon asks. “This is our final battle!”

Raihan says nothing, sweeping out a hand to the side.

Cramorant rises, green eyes alight in what Bede finally recognizes as _anger_, before it sweeps its wings out and casts out a giant wave of blue in Charizard’s direction.

The orange dragon responds with a blast of fire from its mouth, blazing flames hitting sizzling water until clouds of steam boil into the air. As the two attacks collide, Bede watches as the glistening surface of a barrier deflects the water and flames from the observing audience, keeping them safe from the powerful attacks. He also notes the way identical barriers shroud Raihan and Leon in their protection, keeping them from being drowned and burnt to a crisp.

The mere sight of all this at once sends Bede’s heart pattering in anticipation. As Cramorant’s and Charizard’s attacks cancel each other out, as the audience cheers and as he tips forward on the edge of his seat, popcorn bowl nearly forgotten in his lap, he can’t help but let out his feelings of excitement.

“Go Raihan!” He shouts. “You can do it!”

But if his words reach his brother, Raihan sure doesn’t show it. Instead, the boy seems to be watching Leon’s every move, commanding his Pokémon with a calculating calm that feels almost at odds with the frenzied happiness of his audience.

Leon, on the other hand, seems to be anticipating the man’s movements, working with his Charizard to counter Cramorant’s blows and to deal some extra damage. It even gets to the point Cramorant begins to sport a wicked burn, a black patch of damage showing just on Cramorant’s chest. The bird stands tall, however, pushing valiantly through Charizard’s attacks until, finally, the clouds above their head disappear from existence and disappear. And, with them, the size of the beasts who had been fighting.

Charizard and Cramorant shrink, returning to their normal size, before they swoop down upon each other. Cramorant lets loose shots of water, pelting Charizard with Water Gun while the dragon punches the bird with fists made from electricity. The two squabble, clashing and then parting only to clash again, and Bede can’t find it in himself to care when his popcorn bowl topples to the ground, spilling kernels of gold at his feet. There are much more important things, to pay attention to, after all.

Like the way Cramorant lands a Hydro Pump on Charizard. Like the way Charizard lands a Thunder Punch on Cramorant’s chest. Like the way both Pokémon topple to the ground at once, flopping down on green grass and remaining still.

The world silences, deaf to Bede’s ears, before Charizard climbs to its feet. His gaze flicks to Cramorant, willing it up, but finds himself biting his lip when it doesn’t.

“3…” A voice starts speaking.

“Come on,” he says, “come on, get up!”

“2…”

Bede crosses his fingers, willing Cramorant to revive itself and face its opponent with ferocity in its gaze.

“1…”

“Please, please, plea-“

“Cramorant has been declared as unable to battle! Therefore, Leon is the winner!”

Bede leans back in his seat, willing away the adrenaline in his body only to find himself still jittering in excitement. Disappointment bites at him, however, making him all the more fidgety as more talking continues on-screen.

“Congratulations, Leon, our undefeated protégée of the century! You’ve just won the chance to beat our current Champion! How do you feel about that?”

“I feel extremely lucky and honored!” Leon says. “I couldn’t have made it here without the support of my friends and family however. And, if not for Sonia and Raihan, my dear rivals, perhaps I wouldn’t have made it as far as I have!”

“Speaking of Raihan, how about a word from him on-“ a pause “hey, where did he go?”

Bede looks at the screen, eyebrows raising, before he realizes through the lens of the TV camera that, yeah, Raihan has disappeared. The boy frowns, drumming his fingers on the knee of his left leg, before he clicks the TV off and finds his interest lost. He sighs, turning his attention to the popcorn kernels scattered beneath him, before he comes to a decision:

He needs to clean up before his brother gets home.

* * *

It takes three hours for Raihan to return home but, when he does, he wastes little time in smashing everything in sight.

Bede sighs, far too used to the sight of his brother turning his anger on hapless walls, and yet he finds himself surprised when his brother sinks to the floor, heedless to his younger brother’s presence. Raihan clutches at his face, fingers digging into the skin, before a creak of wood underneath Bede’s feet has the man whipping his head in Bede’s direction.

“Uh,” the boy says, scratching at his left arm, “you did a good job? I saw the match. It was pretty cool. I’m sad that you lost but at least you made it to the finals.”

Raihan averts his gaze. “No, it wasn’t cool. Not at all.” Raihan grits his teeth. “I failed.”

“Well, I mean, you made it so far. That’s not something many people can do. And, as my older brother I think that was rather-“

“No, you _don’t_ understand. I _failed._” Raihan stands up and Bede recoils when he sees _tears_ in his brother’s eyes. The man walks towards him, wobbling on his legs, before he wraps his arms around Bede and hugs him tight.

Such a sudden display of sadness sends Bede off-kilter. He turns to his brother, uncertain, and pats his brother’s back. “It’s going to be okay, isn’t it?”

“No.” Raihan shakes his head. Then, he buries himself against Bede’s chest, his body shaking. There’s something like a whimper from Raihan, a low whine of distress, and it takes a minute for Bede to realize his brother is _sobbing._ “Leon, gods, Leon I’m so sorry.”

Bede freezes. Why was his brother apologizing to his rival? Did something happen? But, no, Leon was perfectly fine the last time he saw him. And the news sure wasn’t saying anything. So why was Raihan blabbering “sorrys” to a man he’d lost to?

He wants to ask but Raihan’s fingers dig into the white wool of Bede’s sweater and he finds himself falling quiet.

“I should’ve won.” The man hisses. “_I should’ve won_. You don’t _know_ what you’re getting into.”

The boy pats Raihan’s back, feeling almost awkward at seeing the display before him.

“This is _my_ responsibility, _my_ burden. You can’t…you can’t just steal that away from me. This wasn’t…there are so many things that Leon doesn’t know yet, doesn’t understand. I didn’t want to drag him down. I wanted him to be happy. I wanted to free him. But now he’s trapping himself. And I can do nothing.”

There’s a pause. A long, long pause. Bede tilts his head, uncertain, before Raihan’s head snaps up so that his eyes meets Bede’s.

“But you,” he says. “You can do something. I know you can. You’re my brother. You have a chance to stop everything. It’s not too late. We still have time: we can still can do something.”

“Raihan…?” Bede feels a prick of unease take him as his brother stands up, wiping at his tears, before dragging Bede along. “What’s going on?”

The man doesn’t respond, instead dragging Bede into a dead end of the house they live in. He swipes the air, summoning a panel of light, before he types something upon it and a door that Bede’s never seen before opens.

“Brother what…?”

Raihan drags him in and lets the door lock into place behind them. Immediately, lines of blue fill Bede’s vision and the boy stumbles in shock at the giant screen which fills one entire wall of the room. Raihan grabs at a device in the leftmost corner of the room, a device that reminds the boy of the walkie-talkies police officers sometimes used, before his brother speaks into it.

“New plan.” He says. “I’m bringing my brother.”

A voice crackles on the other line. “Alright. You may come in.”

Raihan nods, bringing Bede over to a plate of shining metal. Bede recognizes it as a teleportation plate, his sense of unease heightened when the metal sparks with white light, beams of energy reaching up, and then the scenery around him changes all at once.

The boy emerges in an office tidy beyond belief. Several sets of bookshelves line the room, flawlessly clean of dust and age despite the scratch marks on the wood’s lower portion. A few potted plants decorate the interior of the room, lining the door way and standing sentry on either sides of an imposing desk.

But what catches Bede’s eyes is neither the bookshelves nor the plants but the wide glass window that reveals an expanse of a grassy green field and bleachers now almost desolate of people. The boy approaches the window with wide eyes, taking note of the sopping field and the remnants of scorch markings on barren parts of the grassy terrain underneath.

“Like what you see?” A deep voice intones.

Bede spins around to watch as a dark-skinned man in a gray suit greets him kindly. The newcomer approaches Raihan’s brother with a nod before turning to Bede.

“It’s nice to meet you at long last,” the man says, smiling at Bede. “My name’s Rose. I’m the Chairman for the Galarian Pokémon Corporation. It’s a pleasure to be meeting you, Bede.”

He reaches out a hand and the boy takes it, shaking it with hesitance. He turns to his brother, eyebrows raising, when Raihan turns to Rose instead and frowns gravely.

“I’m sure you know the reason why I’m here?” The man asks.

“How can I not? We’re on the same side, after all.” Rose looks to Bede. “But have you even told him anything? About Leon? About the legendaries and the curse?”

“I haven’t. But I thought…since Leon’s won now…and we still have time…”

“Yes. I see. I know you are just as afraid for Leon as I am. But, for now, we have reassurance that him being left in the dark will keep him safe.” Rose sighs. “Very well, I’ll definitely take on your request. Bede?”

He turns to Rose, straightening to attention. “Yes?”

There’s a strange sparkle to Rose’s eyes as he asks:

“How would you like to become the next Champion?”

**Author's Note:**

> So. Raihan. On a technicality, he exists. Go to the Pokémon SWSH website, go to Leon’s page, and scroll down until you see the picture where Leon is in one of the stadiums talking. He addresses a “Raihan” character with the exact line “You know I don’t lose battles, Raihan!”. 
> 
> Normally, I’d say this could potentially be the protagonist that Leon’s addressing. However, since A. Raihan as a name apparently relates back to the basil plant, B. the line above this pictured caption says “You can try to catch a glimpse of this battle skill [of Leon’s] during broadcasts of his Championship and exhibition matches!”, and C. it’s been proven at least 2-3 times that the main protagonist’s names used are always “Gloria” and “Victor” (and/or Shield and Sword) and never “Raihan” I consider it doubtful that this is the player character.
> 
> Furthermore, from this picture alone and from the fact that Raihan can apparently mean “Heaven’s flower” (more emphasis on the heaven part), I’ve speculated that this Raihan character was probably one of Leon’s rivals and might’ve been his last opponent before he was able to take on the Champion (as the line “You know I don’t lose battles, Raihan” implies Raihan is both familiar with Leon and has battled him before to the point he’s gotta be aware Leon has never lost before). 
> 
> I’ve also speculated he might have some relation to Bede. Bede, the name, stands in relation to Saint Bede (or, Bede the Venerable) who apparently documented Christianity and its arrival in British history (source bc sources are fun: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/bede_st.shtml). And Raihan apparently means “Heaven’s flower”. And, while it’s a bit of a stretch, since these two have some commonality (namely, heaven being a part of Christianity, connecting “heaven’s flower” to Saint Bede’s association to Christianity) I’ve been wondering if maybe Raihan and Bede are related in some way. 
> 
> I only just learnt about “Raihan” yesterday and while I don’t know who he (she?) is truly, my theorizing mind has already concocted several ideas on his place in the narrative (namely, a lot of the things seen here). I don’t know if I’ll include him in my giant SwSh fanfic (tentatively named SSS until I can finally post it) but I do like the idea of him being related to Leon and Bede (and maybe Rose) and being a key factor in Bede’s over-arching motivations. 
> 
> Hell, I even love the idea of him being our antagonist if it comes down to that: especially since this dude apparently exists yet it’s strange we’ve yet to see him on-screen…


End file.
